Saturday, April 07, 2007

The Evil called "Desi Consultant"

Every other week when I come back home from work my wife used to ask me something like this

“You know what. This girl who has just 3year degree from India and on H4 visa here is going to apply for H1B through a desi consultant. Can I also try?

The desi consultants want my wife who has zero knowledge in IT field to say “Yes” so that they can file H1B visa for her. This sums up how desi consultants work in US and why the 65,000 limit for H1B visa got over in a day.

I fully know that there are a lot of good desi consultants out there. But recently so many have mushroomed that they are just looking out for a “living human body” so that they can file H1B on his/her behalf. Only thing that human body should have is that he should be able to give them around $4000. Rest will be taken care by the consultant. The desi consultant would make a fake resume with tons of experience loaded into it in which you wont even know a word other than your own name and fool the immigration system in US and file for your H1B visa.

By US law it is illegal for the employer (desi consultant) to make employee pay for the H1B Visa expenses. But for desi consultants they have their own law. The way the desi consultant works reminds me of the agents who work to recruit laborers to Middle East. They are fooling the educated people and the sad part is that educated people fall into this trap due to their greediness for earning dollars.

Two weeks back I got a call from one of my good friend who is working in India. He was approached by a desi consultancy with a promise of $40/hour salary, 1 month paid time off to go to India but he has to pay 2 lakhs immediately to process his H1B visa. He was so excited about this offer and was talking to me about the money he will earn in a year after he comes to the US. He called me because he didn’t have money to pay the consultant (consultant asked him to pay very next day) and he wanted to borrow money from me. When I heard about the offer, I knew something was fishy. I asked him the name of the consultancy and I just googled it. All the links were that it is a fraud company and the agent of the consultant just disappears once you give the money. They won’t file the H1B papers properly and if immigration people ask for more documents they won’t provide. There is no clause to get back the money in case the visa is rejected and lot of people have lost money. If at all you come here they won’t help you to get any job. If you get it they take a big chunk of that money. He went through the links I sent to him and he decided not to apply. Because of my advice his application was not among the 133,000 received on the first day for H1 B Visa.

To be in H1 B Visa you need to be in payroll. I know one consultant who issues pay check to those people who are in “bench”. Once they get the paycheck they have to cash it and give the cash back to consultant. Again after 2 weeks he will use that same money to pay them. See how desi consultants misuse the law.

If a desi consultant calls you or you call a desi consultant, within the first 5 minutes he will ask you this question “How old are you?” Why? The older you are the more experience they can show in the fake resume they prepare. My wife is 25 years old and many desi consultants are ready to hire her. When we told them that she doesn’t have any experience in the IT field this is what one of the consultant told us ”Any year you lived after the age of 18 can be converted to relevant experience by making a fake resume. So to apply for H1B you need to be only 23 years. Any one above 23 years can easily get a H1B visa”. For those consultants no educational qualification would matter other than your age.

What is the net result of all these fraud practices by desi consultants? The genuine talented people who deserve to get H1B visa suffer.

Having taken 1 degree in India and another in US (about to finish another in a month), I know the difficulty and pain of getting a degree in US compared to India. When one graduates from a US university he would know the latest technologies in their field unlike in India where you study an outdated syllabus (of course institutions like IITs are an exception). With all the hard work they put in, if a situation arises that you can no longer work in US, because of deceptive tactics of money hungry desi consultants, it is very sad.

I could understand the pain; anguish and agony of hundreds of graduates from US universities who have applied for H1B visa this year and are now praying that they get through the lottery system. If I haven’t applied last year I could have been one among them after 6 years of hard work waiting for my luck to fetch me a job.

Compare this. My friend who has just finished his MS in Computer Science with a good GPA failing to get H1B while a person who has just 3 years bachelors degree in something from India getting H1B visa as a software professional showing 8 years of fake experience. The person who really studied that subject is out and who fooled the system is in. Such a thing should never happen. The fact that such a thing is happening shows that there is something terribly wrong with the system.

Desi consultants are insulting the system. They should be made to obey the law of the land. Let us spread the word among our friends, relatives and others we know about the evil practices of those consultants so that they wont get any more “living human bodies”. Let us expose them.

“If we don’t act now this menace called desi consultants will grow into a big mafia powerful enough to suck the blood of genuine employment seekers in the US”

172 Comments:

Brijesh,I understand your point. But every system has some bad apples. I believe, more than anything that the USCIS or INS or BCIS or whatever its called needs to take the initial step. As long as they sit quiet, I dont see anything improving. It is however, sad to know that Indians seem to be the only people who are always bent on bending rules and exploiting loopholes. Why cant we just abide by the law? I cannot seem to understand that

Brijesh,I think the H1B quota for individuals with Masters in US or Higher is not yet over. So your friend with a MS in US still has chance to get his H1B. I was told by consultant this a consultant. Assuming that the consultant is right the H1B with master degree or more dont get affect much with the new clause

Based on the past statics, the majority of the visa were applied by big companies like Info sys and Wipro apply H1bs just as a safety measure just incase they get a project. Some of those visas dont even get utilized. So as a result people who wanted to apply get into the US on a H1b are denied by this kind of mass filing.

As you said, Desi consultants who do fake applications are indeed evil. But more evil are India IT majors like infosys, tcs and wipro. In past years they got around 50% of total H1 visa. Now what does these people do with this H1 visa? Here is answer, during deployment stage they don't want high wage americans, so they apply h1b for indian workers in tons. Only a few people going to US via these firms can be classified high skilled. I'm sure this time also around 50K visas will be filed via these firms. They are denying highly skilled workers (though they file via desi consultant) H1, by snatching up all available visas

The system is misused and/or bent by these companies to make easier money. This has one more far reaching impact. The image of an average Indian software proffessional is now diminishing. It is transforming to something like a cheap labour India used to export to South east asia, Sri Lanka, Gulf countries during the last century. Most of the "Indian contractors" that I meet at workplace had lied on their resume!

But the other side of the story is that people coming in H4 to US are getting really helpless. Even when they are really accomplished and educated, they are forced not to do anything because of the strict visa restriction. In my case, even when my wife had completed her B Tech in Computer Science & Engg. she is sitting at home. If there is an easier way to get an EAD (like in L2 visa) this wouldn't be the case, I guess. We would have opted for a part time job someplace.

This being said, we haven't applied for H1B for her this time though :)

umesh,USCIS will definitely change law to wipe out bad apples. They may make the whole process more complicated. Again the losers will be genuine job seekers.

anon,Yes i also hope master's quota doesn't get over. Yes Infosys, Wipro etc are also playing a part in this.

Vishal,I feel the quota getting over in a day may turn out to blessing in disguise. US govt have to act now and they may give a different visa to the companies like Infosys or may exempt US graduates from H1 quota.

Ajmel,Yes the image has gone down like anything. You pay money get a visa and come to US irrespective of what you studied and what you know. Hope things will change

Yes, the rule that H4 people cannot work and the chances of you getting an EAD in the near future is so slim makes life tough for an H4 visa holder which are exploited by some desi consultants.

I agree with your point. But I think, the so called consultants wont grow to whatever level they are in if there are no takers for what they are offering. The actual problem is in the mindset of people. The competition is so intense that people do anything to reach US. Sitting in US you can very well argue that the system is bad. But once you reach India you will understand the hard realities.

I'm also into IT and know many people quit their lucrative jobs india for US jobs. The main attraction being the cash they can earn and a good reputation in marriage market . I dont want to name any particular state in india for promoting such a wild spree. But am sure most of the people will very well understand which indian state am referring to. Having said all these things my point in short is * We cannot blame consultants for what they are doing. We need to change before blaming cosultants.* Mentality of a succesful person in US may be different from the one unsuccesful in india or any part of the world.

As a person who has seen this injustice for some time now, I knew one day people would start recognizing this evil.

A lot of the same thing has been happening for a number of years now. The difference this time around is that they have over-abused the system by increasing these applications and have consequently shocked both USCIS and genuine aspirants.

I also agree with India's image getting tarnished in the process. I personally know of a lot of indians who have studied in the US and who are applying directly from India. Most of these people are very talented. It is sad that due to some unscrupulous employers (if you can call them that in the first place), the who;e community is deemed as abusive, cheating and lying (These are the exact strong words used by one poster in an immigration forum).

you are right about the problems caused by these consultants to deserving applicants. Desi consultants (head hunters) are not the only ones doing it. There are plenty of consultants that hire other nationality people.

Some of the unfortunate ones that come here to get a masters fund it through loans and such...and when they can not find a job, they go to the consultants. They probably 'train' for a few months then sit on the bench if unlucky or get a project of lucky. It at least helps pay the dues.

I am not in agreement with the immigration laws too. If you and I know about the consultants mal-practices, you think the US govt. doesnot??? They will do what benefits them. Back in the day, they encouraged mexican immigrants because they wanted interstates to be built. Once done, they shut the doors. Where is the fcuking homogeneity in that? I do not disagree your discontent with the consultants, but this is the ghee with tedhi ungli case.

Here are a few questions to the thinkers:1. Does US govt. know about these mal practices? I think yes. 2. If yes, then they are facilitating H1Bs through consultants...3. Are we the new Mexican immigrants who came in (were brought in) to construct the interstates? They are the only ones that could do it cheaply. Are we being brought in to construct the IT infrastructure for USA?

good thoughts. You are correct. Since there are people who somehow want to come to US that these consultancies are thriving. Most people think that by coming to US, their social status back home increases. One of my friend even told me this. I asked a friend of mine who was struggling here to meet both ends meet after coming to US through a consultant why he came to US resigning a good job in India. His reply was “If you haven’t gone to US you wont get any respect from any one working with you.” Also he told me that it is tough to get a girl for a IT professional who don’t have any plans to go US. Some people are ready to undergo any kind of sufferings in US but somehow doesn’t want to leave this place. These consultants knowing that these kind of people will go any extend to get a job in US and are exploiting them.

SurAJ

Welcome to my blog.

You are right. If the person goes on making fake resume then I am sure the image of Indian IT professional would be tarnished. In the late 1990s I know US companies use to do phone interview candidates in India and use to select them. what few people did was they would hire some expert to attend the phone interview for them. The American companies found that out and they stopped it. Like that they would resumes of all the Indians are fake.

anon@2:03 PM

there are lot of talented people who have all the right to come to US. But few rotten apples who some how wants to come to US for some other reasons as explained earlier are the real culprits. Because of those people there is a good chance that the image of the whole community might be tarnished. Hope something will be done to change this kind of system this year.

ShekIt is extremely sad to see someone who came here did MS taking credit card and other loans and now living in uncertainty because of visa. I don’t know if US government knows about this practice and just closing the eyes- May be may not be- I don’t know.

US companies are taking Indians to do the IT jobs not for the love towards Indians. They are getting cheap labor. After a decade if they get cheap labor from Uganda or Ethiopia they will go there. No doubt about it.

As SurAj points in the resume the main issue is all about credibility. Think of such a situation. You are going to an interview with your resume. The interviewer suspecting your resume because lot of Indians who came for interview did that earlier or in general there is a belief that Indians go to interview with a fake resume. Isn’t this scary?

SurAJIf this kind of fake resume thing is allowed to go for another year or two all of us who have genuine experience and resume will suffer. US govt may know this but something has to be done to prevent this in future. As you said “We cannot justify our own mistakes by cloaking it under someone elses.”

@SurAjI was not aiming at the border jumping Mexicans at all; I should have been more clear about it. I am speaking about the US Govt legalizing immigration from Mexico for their material reasons back in the day and now being abrupt and harsh about guarding the fences. Don't tell me that US can send troups to a foreign country to hunt down a terrorist but cant guard the fences from some hungry desperate and tired Mexicans.

Creating false resumes is wrong...and the employer that goes to the consultants sees through those false resumes. They just keep a lid on it and get a $200/hr job done at $120/hr. They create the demand for cheap IT labor that these consultants provide.

@BrijeshI was just uncomfortable with you targeting the consultants as the chief source and cause of filling up H1B quotas and creating a pool of false resumes. I just think there is a bigger game here, more people are involved with equal and greater inputs. That is what I meant by ghee with tedhi ungli case. If there is money to be made, someone will make it, desi consultants or non-desi consultants. Importing coffee was illegal for a long time...and now Star bucks is milking some poor African countries dry. Everything is possible these days.

@EveryoneWe should not let some poor desperate Indian bugger who is trying to make a desperate buck ruin our credibility as a knowledgeable community. I think we can counter that every day by doing good work and proving that skill sets vary. Uptight conservatives will form their opinion about us no matter what we do.

If people don't pay these consultants, or if people stop looking for shortcuts, maybe this problem won't occur. Also, I can tell you countless students who finish their masters, wait for a month to get a job and if they can't get one, they go to a consultant. This of course would mean that the two+ or so years spent getting the degree is useless. I can argue that these mongs are holding up places that a deserving individual could have made use of.

@SurajI am not dragging Mexican immigrants into anything. They were used as an example only. The blog is more then three words, hence the longer comments.

WHY THE FCUK DOES IT NOT MATTER IF A BIG POWERFUL COUNTRY IS DOING SOMETHING WRONG? Are you scared to admit that. I said it to Brijesh and I am saying it to you...Desi consultants are not the only people responsible for the fast filling H1B quotas. I completely agree that Dishonesty is bad, so if we are holding a jury here, we should bring all the people responsible for the crime in the court...and not sit around point fingers at the weakest culprit.

Shek/SuREJ,Consultants may be a small fish in the whole thing. But the influence of consultants are increasing every year and if something is not done a stage will be reached when majority of the H1B visa issued will be that for consultants with fake resume.

This is not the first time a law is being misused by Indians. The rule was changed about marriage for a GC holder when US govt found that lot of Indians with GC were marrying someone in India for money, come to US get GC and then divorce. Now for genuine GC holder if he wants to marry he cannot bring the spouse for 3 years. The genuine people suffer. The US govt will make changes in H1B issuance but when they make it that may be tough on genuine people with proper qualification. So I believe it is necessary to wipe out unwanted elements (however small it is) so that hardworking people won’t suffer.

Sriram,I believe as long as there are people whose ambition is just “somehow” come to US these kind of practices will exist in one form or another. When I path is closed by sticter law they will invent another path.

@BrijeshYou are right about the GC laws. A close friend of mine is an immigration lawyer. These immigration laws change every week, if not every day. All those who are applying for OPT, CPT, H1B, please make it sure to deal with your international centers for the latest updates and rules and not just your seniors.

Now, only if I can get my company to start my GC processing before my mom gets me married ;)

I guess I am the oddball out here :) I am one of the unfortunate guys who are forced to get an H1B and come to work in US just for the fact that not planning to come into US makes you look "un-initiated" to your top management. I was forced to apply for H1 as if I did not I would look like a person who "doesn't take initative" "cannot take responsibilities" & "has issues with communication" as per my manager. So to save my career and not to painted as a slacker, I apply for an H1 and am here.

I have no wish or motivation to be here. True, I made some cash and got some cool gadgets here, but I had lived without it for the past 27 years and can do without it in the future too.

anon@ 11.42AMPeople like you should be getting H1B. As part of the work, with your true experience came here, enjoy the good side of US and decide either to stay here or go back. But what we are seeing is a mad rush to come to US at any cost. That is bad.

I have heard a very similar story like yours from my engineering class mate. She was forced to come to US to show her manager that she was really "motivated" for the work. So don't think you are a odd ball out.

Well written article. For someone who had been recruiting in US from the last 8 years and I surely agree with every word.

Shek :- Not sure if UCIS knows the extent of fraud on H1 B visa butthis is what's being done check out-http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/04/03/HNsenateh1bbill_1.html

Vishal:- Good point and the major IT giants are the one consuming a lot of H1 B's and lowering the wages as you have so many from India willing to come- EX- I freind of min was coming to CA for a 45K SAN Admin position though TCS and a SAN Admin bill's more than $150/Hr and on asking why he want to work on such a low salary he mentioned that if I don't accept to come - there are hundred other behind me on line.link for evaluation of Company status based on H1 .http://www.flcdatacenter.com/CaseH1B.aspx

Ajmel:- wrong move (sry to say it).. but if your wife's qualified she should have looked for good companies who will take her based on her qualifications and there are many ..

Consultnig jobs yes- no one checks the backgound for experience but with fake resumes its hard for you to get a full time position at good co's. Brijesh:-Indian IT professional's image has already being tarnishedShek:-its not about going to ethiopia- US is a great country coz of capitalism. Sorry but Socialism doesn't work that well.

my respponse is really getting long--BUT This is a real issue and I really hope more people would keep debating without using the "f" word.On small note anytime you have any problem with ANY co. please remember these three letters - "DOL" (Department of Labor)- co's do get audited on H1 B Fraud and I know that very well.

Rithesh,Thanks. I cannot agree to your response to Ajmel. If you are in H4 visa and you want to get a job in good company it is very tough even if you have experience. You need to apply for visa in April and wait till October to start work. Most of the good companies wont allow that. That is another reason why people in H4 go through these kind of consultants.

Anon@8.46PMGo to hell man. The way you have put this comment I should say something is wrong with you. That may the reason why even after 2 Masters you cannot get a proper job.

Good one Brijesh.. Its atleast comforting that the advanced degree qouta didn't expire the first week!!!

I was wondering who you were responding to in your last response.. I have to agree with you about that anon guy.. See that person's qualifications..No wonder he had to take the "illegal" route for his "dream" job!!!! [:D]..

(I) in clause (i), by striking `(E)(i) In the case of an application described in clause (ii), the' and inserting `(E) The'; and

(II) by striking clause (ii);

(ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking `In the case of' and all that follows through `where--' and inserting the following: `The employer will not place the nonimmigrant with another employer if--'; and

(iii) in subparagraph (G), by striking `In the case of an application described in subparagraph (E)(ii), subject' and inserting `Subject';

(B) in paragraph (2)--

(i) in subparagraph (E), by striking `If an H-1B-dependent employer' and inserting `If an employer that employs H-1B nonimmigrants'; and

(ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking `The preceding sentence shall apply to an employer regardless of whether or not the employer is an H-1B-dependent employer.'; and

(C) by striking paragraph (3).

(2) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendments made by paragraph (1) shall apply to applications filed on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(b) Nondisplacement Requirement-

(1) EXTENDING TIME PERIOD FOR NONDISPLACEMENT- Section 212(n) of such Act, as amended by subsection (a), is further amended--

(A) in paragraph (1)--

(i) in subparagraph (E), by striking `90 days' each place it appears and inserting `180 days';

(ii) in subparagraph (F)(ii), by striking `90 days' each place it appears and inserting `180 days'; and

(B) in paragraph (2)(C)(iii), by striking `90 days' each place it appears and inserting `180 days'.

(2) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendments made by paragraph (1)--

(A) shall apply to applications filed on or after the date of the enactment of this Act; and

(B) shall not apply to displacements for periods occurring more than 90 days before such date.

(c) Public Listing of Available Positions-

(1) LISTING OF AVAILABLE POSITIONS- Section 212(n)(1)(C) of such Act is amended--

(A) in clause (i), by striking `(i) has provided' and inserting the following:

`(ii)(I) has provided';

(B) by redesignating clause (ii) as subclause (II); and

(C) by inserting before clause (ii), as redesignated, the following:

`(i) has advertised the job availability on the list described in paragraph (6), for at least 30 calendar days; and'.

(2) LIST MAINTAINED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR- Section 212(n) of such Act, as amended by this section, is further amended by adding at the end the following:

`(6)(A) Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary of Labor shall establish a list of available jobs, which shall be publicly accessible without charge--

`(i) on a website maintained by the Department of Labor, which website shall be searchable by--

`(I) the name, city, State, and zip code of the employer;

`(II) the date on which the job is expected to begin;

`(III) the title and description of the job; and

`(IV) the State and city (or county) at which the work will be performed; and

`(ii) at each 1-stop center created under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (Public Law 105-220).

`(B) Each available job advertised on the list shall include--

`(i) the employer's full legal name;

`(ii) the address of the employer's principal place of business;

`(iii) the employer's city, State and zip code;

`(iv) the employer's Federal Employer Identification Number;

`(v) the phone number, including area code and extension, as appropriate, of the hiring official or other designated official of the employer;

`(vi) the e-mail address, if available, of the hiring official or other designated official of the employer;

`(vii) the wage rate to be paid for the position and, if the wage rate in the offer is expressed as a range, the bottom of the wage range;

`(viii) whether the rate of pay is expressed on an annual, monthly, biweekly, weekly, or hourly basis;

`(ix) a statement of the expected hours per week that the job will require;

`(x) the date on which the job is expected to begin;

`(xi) the date on which the job is expected to end, if applicable;

`(xii) the number of persons expected to be employed for the job;

`(xiii) the job title;

`(xiv) the job description;

`(xv) the city and State of the physical location at which the work will be performed; and

`(xvi) a description of a process by which a United States worker may submit an application to be considered for the job.

`(C) The Secretary of Labor may charge a nominal filing fee to employers who advertise available jobs on the list established under this paragraph to cover expenses for establishing and administering the requirements under this paragraph.

`(D) The Secretary may promulgate rules, after notice and a period for comment--

`(i) to carry out the requirements of this paragraph; and

`(ii) that require employers to provide other information in order to advertise available jobs on the list.'.

(3) EFFECTIVE DATE- Paragraph (1) shall take effect for applications filed at least 30 days after the creation of the list described in paragraph (2).

(d) H-1B Nonimmigrants Not Admitted for Jobs Advertised or Offered Only to H-1B Nonimmigrants- Section 212(n)(1) of such Act, as amended by this section, is further amended--

(1) by inserting after subparagraph (G) the following:

`(H)(i) The employer has not advertised the available jobs specified in the application in an advertisement that states or indicates that--

`(I) the job or jobs are only available to persons who are or who may become H-1B nonimmigrants; or

`(II) persons who are or who may become H-1B nonimmigrants shall receive priority or a preference in the hiring process.

`(ii) The employer has not only recruited persons who are, or who may become, H-1B nonimmigrants to fill the job or jobs.'; and

(2) in the undesignated paragraph at the end, by striking `The employer' and inserting the following:

`(K) The employer'.

(e) Prohibition of Outplacement-

(1) IN GENERAL- Section 212(n) of such Act, as amended by this section, is further amended--

(A) in paragraph (1), by amending subparagraph (F) to read as follows:

`(F) The employer shall not place, outsource, lease, or otherwise contract for the placement of an alien admitted or provided status as an H-1B nonimmigrant with another employer;' and

(B) in paragraph (2), by striking subparagraph (E).

(2) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendments made by paragraph (1) shall apply to applications filed on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(f) Limit on Percentage of H-1B Employees- Section 212(n)(1) of such Act, as amended by this section, is further amended by inserting after subparagraph (H), as added by subsection (d)(1), the following:

`(I) If the employer employs not less than 50 employees in the United States, not more than 50 percent of such employees are H-1B nonimmigrants.'.

(g) Wage Determination-

(1) CHANGE IN MINIMUM WAGES- Section 212(n)(1) of such Act, as amended by this section, is further amended--

(A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows:

`(A) The employer--

`(i) is offering and will offer, during the period of authorized employment, to aliens admitted or provided status as an H-1B nonimmigrant, wages, based on the best information available at the time the application is filed, which are not less than the highest of--

`(I) the locally determined prevailing wage level for the occupational classification in the area of employment;

`(II) the median average wage for all workers in the occupational classification in the area of employment; or

`(III) the median wage for skill level 2 in the occupational classification found in the most recent Occupational Employment Statistics survey; and

`(ii) will provide working conditions for such a nonimmigrant that will not adversely affect the working conditions of workers similarly employed.'; and

(2) PROVISION OF W-2 FORMS- Section 212(n)(1) of such Act is amended by inserting after subparagraph (I), as added by subsection (f), the following:

`(J) If the employer, in such previous period as the Secretary shall specify, employed 1 or more H-1B nonimmigrants, the employer shall submit to the Secretary the Internal Revenue Service Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement filed by the employer with respect to such nonimmigrants for such period.'.

(3) EFFECTIVE DATE- The amendments made by this subsection shall apply to applications filed on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(h) Immigration Documents- Section 204 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1154) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(l) Employer To Share All Immigration Paperwork Exchanged With Federal Agencies- Not later than 10 working days after receiving a written request from a former, current, or future employee or beneficiary, an employer shall provide the employee or beneficiary with the original (or a certified copy of the original) of all petitions, notices, and other written communication exchanged between the employer and the Department of Labor, the Department of Homeland Security, or any other Federal agency that is related to an immigrant or nonimmigrant petition filed by the employer for the employee or beneficiary.'.

SEC. 3. H-1B GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY AND REQUIREMENTS.

(a) Safeguards Against Fraud and Misrepresentation in Application Review Process- Section 212(n)(1)(K) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as redesignated by section 2(d)(2), is amended--

(1) by inserting `and through the Department of Labor's website, without charge.' after `D.C.';

(3) by striking `or obviously inaccurate' and inserting `, presents clear indicators of fraud or misrepresentation of material fact, or is obviously inaccurate';

(4) by striking `within 7 days of' and inserting `not later than 14 days after'; and

(5) by adding at the end the following: `If the Secretary's review of an application identifies clear indicators of fraud or misrepresentation of material fact, the Secretary may conduct an investigation and hearing under paragraph (2).

(b) Investigations by Department of Labor- Section 212(n)(2) of such Act is amended--

(1) in subparagraph (A)--

(A) by striking `12 months' and inserting `24 months'; and

(B) by striking `The Secretary shall conduct' and all that follows and inserting `Upon the receipt of such a complaint, the Secretary may initiate an investigation to determine if such a failure or misrepresentation has occurred.';

(A) in clause (i), by striking `if the Secretary' and all that follows and inserting `with regard to the employer's compliance with the requirements of this subsection.';

(B) in clause (ii), by striking `and whose identity' and all that follows through `failure or failures.' and inserting `the Secretary of Labor may conduct an investigation into the employer's compliance with the requirements of this subsection.';

(F) in clause (iv), as redesignated, by striking `meet a condition described in clause (ii), unless the Secretary of Labor receives the information not later than 12 months' and inserting `comply with the requirements under this subsection, unless the Secretary of Labor receives the information not later than 24 months';

(G) by amending clause (v), as redesignated, to read as follows:

`(v) The Secretary of Labor shall provide notice to an employer of the intent to conduct an investigation. The notice shall be provided in such a manner, and shall contain sufficient detail, to permit the employer to respond to the allegations before an investigation is commenced. The Secretary is not required to comply with this clause if the Secretary determines that such compliance would interfere with an effort by the Secretary to investigate or secure compliance by the employer with the requirements of this subsection. A determination by the Secretary under this clause shall not be subject to judicial review.'.

(H) in clause (vi), as redesignated, by striking `An investigation' and all that follows through `the determination.' and inserting `If the Secretary of Labor, after an investigation under clause (i) or (ii), determines that a reasonable basis exists to make a finding that the employer has failed to comply with the requirements under this subsection, the Secretary shall provide interested parties with notice of such determination and an opportunity for a hearing in accordance with section 556 of title 5, United States Code, not later than 120 days after the date of such determination.'; and

(I) by adding at the end the following:

`(vii) If the Secretary of Labor, after a hearing, finds a reasonable basis to believe that the employer has violated the requirements under this subsection, the Secretary may impose a penalty under subparagraph (C).'; and

(4) by striking subparagraph (H).

(c) Information Sharing Between Department of Labor and Department of Homeland Security- Section 212(n)(2) of such Act, as amended by this section, is further amended by inserting after subparagraph (G) the following:

`(H) The Director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services shall provide the Secretary of Labor with any information contained in the materials submitted by H-1B employers as part of the adjudication process that indicates that the employer is not complying with H-1B visa program requirements. The Secretary may initiate and conduct an investigation and hearing under this paragraph after receiving information of noncompliance under this subparagraph.'.

(d) Audits- Section 212(n)(2)(A) of such Act, as amended by this section, is further amended by adding at the end the following: `The Secretary may conduct surveys of the degree to which employers comply with the requirements under this subsection and may conduct annual compliance audits of employers that employ H-1B nonimmigrants. The Secretary shall conduct annual compliance audits of not less than 1 percent of the employers that employ H-1B nonimmigrants during the applicable calendar year. The Secretary shall conduct annual compliance audits of each employer with more than 100 employees who work in the United States if more than 15 percent of such employees are H-1B nonimmigrants.'.

(e) Penalties- Section 212(n)(2)(C) of such Act, as amended by this section, is further amended--

(1) in clause (i)(I), by striking `$1,000' and inserting `$2,000';

(2) in clause (ii)(I), by striking `$5,000' and inserting `$10,000'; and

(3) in clause (vi)(III), by striking `$1,000' and inserting `$2,000'.

(f) Information Provided to H-1B Nonimmigrants Upon Visa Issuance- Section 212(n) of such Act, as amended by this section, is further amended by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:

`(3)(A) Upon issuing an H-1B visa to an applicant outside the United States, the issuing office shall provide the applicant with--

`(i) a brochure outlining the employer's obligations and the employee's rights under Federal law, including labor and wage protections;

`(ii) the contact information for Federal agencies that can offer more information or assistance in clarifying employer obligations and workers' rights; and

`(iii) a copy of the employer's H-1B application for the position that the H-1B nonimmigrant has been issued the visa to fill.

`(B) Upon the issuance of an H-1B visa to an alien inside the United States, the officer of the Department of Homeland Security shall provide the applicant with--

`(i) a brochure outlining the employer's obligations and the employee's rights under Federal law, including labor and wage protections;

`(ii) the contact information for Federal agencies that can offer more information or assistance in clarifying employer's obligations and workers' rights; and

`(iii) a copy of the employer's H-1B application for the position that the H-1B nonimmigrant has been issued the visa to fill.'.

SEC.

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Brijesh - you know where I work, and I guess I have told you how I got to the USA. My whole resume was a full of hot air. In fact, I was given the resume of another more experienced associate, and just changed the name and a few other details. I mugged up the information in this CV and before I knew it, I was this new person in front of the consulate. So where's the honesty here? The frenzy about USA (as opposed to UK/Europe/Aus) seems to be the driving factor. And unless the US immigration changes their policies(which I'm sure they soon will), we Indians will continue to exploit - I mean the crooked ones. It's in our blood. Finding the loopholes comes naturally to us. I know a colleague who bought a new handycam from Walmart each time he wanted to go on a trip. He used all the features of the cam, and then returned it promptly upon arrival. He has done it several times, and continues to do so. One can't get more cheap than that !

AK,You have told me about fake resumes. Even if the immgration rules changes Indians will somehow find a way a loop hole in the system. See today's news-a MP is arrested trying to smuggle 2 people to Canada. When people are crazy to come to US such things are bound to happen.

Gettinig a masters degree from US university is a waste of precious time and money. Even after graduating, there is no provision to get a job other than faking your resume with 5-6 years experience and approaching desi consulting companies for getting H1B visa. People should stop coming to US for masters program. Instead they should gain work experience in India and then try to come to the US. Desi consultants have found out loopholes in law and are granting H1Bs for jobs that do not even exist and contracting out consultants to other American contractors.

The US should scrap H1B and instead do away with the green card through employment program. Instead they should charge a few thousand dollars for highly skilled people and directly give them green cards. they should reduce the family based green cards, put a cap on them and instead encourage people with technical skills to apply for green card based on point system just like Australia/Canada

Brijesh, your article is timely and excellent. Thousands of Indians are Suffering becoz. of these Fraud Desi Consultants in USA, most of who are Andhra/Telugu aka Goltis! These guys are Liars and Frauds in everything they do...Education, Work Experience, Wage-Fraud, Tax Cheating, Immigration-Fraud you name it, Cheating and Exploiting fellow Indians Shamelessly and ruining thousands of lives! It is time to expose these Mafia to the Indian Student Community and USA Embassies in India and INS/BCIS/DOL, Immigration and Job Portals and bring them to book. We have to provide weekly updates of Fraud Companies/Names/Phone-Numbers and email addresses and expose these Crooks! Education and Awareness are the Best Tools against these Fraudulent Desis! It is Time to Act! If we want a better Future for Desis and the Community at large, write to the Public forums! Start Right now! Brijesh keep up the Good Work and Thanks for your eye-opening Blog!You can email me at andrewjon77@yahoo.com.Thanks-Andrew

This Blog is very good to read. I wish to add:My friend from Andhra studied Masters in CS at a university in Texas and in 2004 was suckered by a fellow Telugu Bloodsucker consultant. Now the parasite consultant 'owns' my friend just like the bonded labour people back in India. Here's how: the bloodsucker Telugu fraud consultant enticed my friend with H-1B visa. He took his OPT Card and kept it as ransom; then he made my friend pay for his H-1B and kept the H-1B original and copy to himself. My friend is trapped and cannot apply for a H-1B transfer even if he got another job. The Telugu fraud consultant keeps him on Bench atleast half the time and pays the guy $200 a month. They have not even applied for his Labour certification yet. If this is not Telugu fraud then what is???The Telugu fraudsters have made it a Cottage Industry to cheat other Indians. Fraudulent Bastards!

Hi, as a general rule avoid the job/training ads. on Sulekha or EkNazar. 99% are by fraudulent desis mainly Telugu guys. Avoid any ads on Craigslist that does not give a company name or phone number; Most software ads on Craigslist are by fraudulent desis.Beware such scamsters.

Brijesh and everyone...I agree with most of you... We students come here with the help of loans.We struggle hard and complete our masters. To clear our loans and credit card bills we all want to get into a job as soon as we graduate. I graduated in December and on my graduation day, I found that all of my friends were already in jobs placed by consultancy. Each saying they put 4-7 yrs of experience. I am the only person in my batch who still does not have a job just because I did not go for a consultancy, I have been trying for a job with my Masters degree in Computer science. I was either asked for Citizenship/Greencard for a fulltime job. Else the consultants used to call me and tell me only way I can get a job is putting fake experience... few of they literally argued with me and few completely discouraged me. I was scared that I might not get a H1B and had to ask a consultancy for H1B sponsorship after 3 months of wait in mid-March. They asked me to provide 4 years of fake experience. It took me 3 weeks, I was not able to create one. But I did not put it online. I am still waiting for a response for a fulltime job and they have been telling me they will take their decision soon and it's been 3 weeks. I decided to wait till the end of this month and planned to put my fake resume online in first week of April.

Its been years since we all knew this- UNEMPLOYMENT and may be someone someday started a job-consultancy to help people someway but its now like a printing machine to lot of people which keeps printing money. Everyone wants a parallel income apart from their full-time job and thats how consultancies grew and now we have couple of consultancy in 10-15 families. But they never thought that this parallel income is hard-work of several people, and Jo tumhara nahin hai woh kabhi tumhara nahi hoga... It will never stay with you, someday you will definitely loose it... And if you have been doing poojas to Gods and Godesses this is not what your Saibaba or whoever u pray to... have asked u to do to earn.

To the guy who posted last(with Master's in CS), Apr 23, 10.27 pm: I feel sad reading about your plight man! Have you applied for H-1B? If so, was your application accepted for "Lottery"? I suggest an alternative for you. Since you have OPT till Dec 2007, apply for a Second Master's, under some degree in the USA and take admission for Spring 2008. This is to keep your status going. Meanwhile this is what you do as early as possible. Apply for Immigration to Canada. It takes about one year to Process. The paperwork can be done by yourself. It is not hard. Keep your Toefl and Gre scores handy as they give you 10 points for Immigration. It will cost you not more than 600-700 Dollars Max. You can even do your Medicals and Background check here itself. Read carefully on the Web for details, make notes, organise yourself and apply. I'm sure you will get it as Canada wants 2 lakhs well qualified people this year. Even if you have to go back to school here next Jan, it'll be max of 1 Semester and Summer is optional. Wait it out and go to Canada. Life is Good if not better than USA. I hear British Columbia is very nice. Good luck man! You deserve it!

Hey this is a good site. As a university student, just about to graduate it is very informative. It also enlightens about watching out for these desi scams mainly done by Telegu fellows. There is always something suspicious about these Telegu fellows. They worship Balaji and SaiBaba, yet cheat all the time. I am from south and know a smattering of Telegu, wherein the word 'Raepu" means tomorrow. It looks as though crooked Telegu consultants are 'Raeping' the future of our countrymen. Telegus are putting Namam or Govinda on other people, or in other words scam and cheat others. Thanks for this site.-Babu

IndyaYou have a good site and will let my friends know about your website.

Anon@7.14pm“Gettinig a masters degree from US university is a waste of precious time and money.”

I can never agree with that statement. If you properly do research and join a good school then you WILL end up in a good job. It is a waste of time and money if you join for MS just to come to US to increase the social status or your worth in marriage market. You seem to be a guy like that. I have seen lot of students who come to study in US just for the above-mentioned reasons. For them it is a waste of money and time.

Anon@7.23 PM

Who ever has wrote this please understand one thing- if your purpose of coming to US is just to get green card then I should say your priorities are wrong. People like you will do anything (put tones of fake experience) to remain in US.

Biby Cletus

Thanks

Andrew

I think this time around INS/USCIS will be stricter. There are lot of discussions going on around about the fake resumes and all that stuff. Hope things will soon change.

Anon 6.42 PM,I don’t want to generalize that only people from Andra do this. But the story of our friend is so common. I know of a friend who was in the same situation. What he did was he told his consultant that he wanted to go to India. The consultant gave him the copy of his H1 when he was about to leave. He needed only a copy of his H1 to file for H1 transfer. I think your friend should do something like this.

Anon 7.23 PM,Good piece of advice

Anon @10.27 PM

I feel so sorry for you. There are some consultancies which are really good and there for a long time. They give you good training and in-house project and then try to place you. You may try some consultancies like that. The best way to research about a consultancies is to ask them to give a list of people they have placed and talking to them.

Wishing you all the best for the job search.

Anon @11.32 PMGoing to Canada is a good option. But few of my friends who went to Canada were complaining to me that there is practically no life in Canada with 6 months of extreme winter. But then job is your first priority.

BabuI don’t think it is good to generalize that fraud companies as belonging to people from one place. I feel it may be correct to say that they may be the most visible one but there are also people from all Indian states doing this.

I agree we have guys from all over India doing fraud or cheating in USA; But, they are miniscule when compared to the Telegu or Andhra fellows, who have do 95% of the frauds without any shame or conscience; They have ruined the lives of many many Indians; So why not single them out? In my university most of the Telegus are notorious cheats on every quiz and exam; Samachar published an article last year with Hyderabad as most corrupt city in India. It is hard for us Indians(-land of Mahatma Gandhi) to admit to the truth. Truth hurts, especially for people who cheat or scam. Let us not keep keep things under the carpet when the lives of many talented, deserving Indians are ruined by greedy cheats. It is time to expose these frauds!-Babu

I am still on an H4 visa after 2 1/2 years ... And I have been approcahed by several of these desi consultants. I might add I am an engineer with 4 years of software development experience. The bottom line is the consultants are out there to strip you of any dignity.1. They want your money to file for H1.2. They want a fleece you in your pay.3. if that's not enough they want you to lie through your nose so you can get a job.4. If that's also not enough they will shuttle you back and forth the country from one employer to another at their own will. All the time paying bare minimum.5. When you donot have a project, they will generate false pay slips and pay you nothing. Even Indian companies don't stoop this low.

I read a comment saying that there are companies who will apply for an H1B visa. I still have to meet one.... most of the companies that call me require people immediately and with the H1B quota always out... they cannot do so even if they want to, no company wants to wait 8-12 months for a worker, when the requirement is immediate. Finally these companies have no choice but to go through the desi consultants cause they give them people. Honest people suffer in the process.

I agree the USCIS is responsible for the mess. I don't know if it is a delibrate attempt to ignore the problem or if they are not aware of the situation.

Anon@ 9.10 PMI know the people with last name “Singh”, “patil” and “Shah” are blacklisted in the US embassy and consulate is careful in issuing visas. May be in the future it may extend to “reddy” and “Rao”.

Anon @10.05 AMI fully agree with you. I also know a lot of people in H4 who has valid work experience. They cannot apply directly to any company because of visa issues. They can only approach the consultant. Consultants will take advantage of this precarious situation to their benefit.

"When one graduates from a US university he would know the latest technologies in their field unlike in India where you study an outdated syllabus "--->Joke of the year...you are just talking about the people who you know...Here you work in McD and KFC during 2 years of MS and add it your experience..Those who graduate from good Engineering colleges are having job in MNC from day one dude

Regarding blacklisted last names, i guess it should read 'Patel' instead of 'Patil'; Definitely 'Reddy' and 'Rao' should be added along with either firstname or lastname of 'Sai'! The USA embassies in India have fraud detection teams, yet cheats find ways of getting visas; A suggestion would be for an embassy staff to physically verify details of suspicious applicants, that means going to the company physically along with local police as they do for passport background check and check details of employment and interview the managers/supervisors for payroll/taxes. That will deter cheats to a great extent!

Before you talk about the quality of education in US please identify yourself. I think more than 99.9% who studied in US will agree that schools in US teach the latest stuff in the field. One more thing – you don’t put your part time jobs in your resume when one apply for full time job- if you are not aware of it. Even if you put that it is better than putting fake experience as you people do.

Again I am repeating – if u do good research and join a good/average school for Masters in a good subject u will definitely get a much better job than what u get in India.

A few of the honorable members of Indian parliament are part of the racket. That shows how organized this racket is. So these people will come up with new ways to beat the system. I feel this cheating will continue till “dollar dreams” exists in some part of India.

Everyone- if you could post with your name/nick name then it could be easy for me to track the comments. Now in these comments most of them are “anonymous” and there is no way I could find if all are from different person or some comments are from same person. Do add at least some nickname after your comment.

hi, came across your site when i done a google of “sun + engineer + kerala”.. but nothing in your blog to suggest u work in sun microsystems…

I am looking for a Keralite couple working in Sun Microsystems, USA.

Only info I know is that: the guy is from Alleppey District in Kerala. He was working in Sun, USA during 2002, 2003 etc… His wife also joined for work in Sun Microsystems after their marriage. Guy should have been in a little senior position there.May be they are still working in Sun.

Can anything be possibly done to trace them? Any informal association of indians / keralites?

i wrote to my friend in mathrubhumi, kochi, but he said after enquiring with the advt section that they cant put such advts!! If required it can be put as a news, but i am not interested in that.

i asked a good friend of mine who is a senior manager for Capgemini in US..i asked him why doesnt the HR in his office check the H-1B visa stamp on the consultants they hire ...99 % of fake resumes could be eliminated that way the reason is even US corporations know it and they allow it to bil clients...everyones to blame not just desi consultants

Rules about illegal benching etc. and what you can do about it.(I got this from a well reputed lawyer)

FAQ+++++++++Q. What is the law regarding the benching of H-1 holding employees?A. The law does NOT permit benching without full salary payment by the employer. The only exception is that when anemployer first hires an employee on H-1B they are allowed an initial period of 30 or 60 days during which the employeedoes not have to be paid while on bench.

i. If the employee is currently in USA and adjusts status or transfers from one employer to another within USA - thebench-without-pay period is 60 days from the date of approval of the petition by INS.

ii. If the employee is entering USA from abroad, the period is 30 days from the date of entry into USA.

Rights of Employee and Liabilities of Employer+++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++All the remedies and liabilities stated below exist under immigration law. If there is a contract between the employerand the employee, there may be ADDITIONAL rights and liabilities.

The following situations could exist:i. If the employee is not paid during the 30 or 60 days period stated above - there is no remedy. The employee cantry changing over to another employer. If an application to INS is made within the 30-60 days period, it could beargued that the employee is "in-status." Hence INS should give them a change of status.

If INS does not agree, the employee can be required to get a new visa from their home country before they can beginworking. That should be possible without undue difficulty.

ii. If the employee is on bench AND not paid beyond the 30 - 60 day period, the employer is required to terminate theemployment or pay the salary. If the employment is terminated, the employer must arrange for a one way ticket back tothe employee's home country. The employee can complain to INS office that approved the H-1 and/or to the US Departmentof Labor that approved the LCA. This can create problems for the employer. Especially, when there a series ofcomplaints from other employees as well. To find out who may file a complaint and how it is processed, go tohttp://www.dol.gov/dol/allcfr/ETA/Title_20/Part_655/20CFR655.806.htm

The employee can also find another employer. It is likely that he or she will be required to get a new visa from theirhome country before they can begin working. That should be possible without undue difficulty.

iii. If the employee is working but is not getting paid, in addition to complaining to INS and DOL as stated above inpara ii, the employee can also complain to the State Workforce Agency (SWA) in the state where the work is performed. Most SWA's will recover the wages owed on behalf of the employee. To find out the addresses for SWAs go tohttp://www.uses.doleta.gov/pdf/State_Workforce_Agencies_2004.pdf#search='State%20Workforce%20Agencies'

The employee can also find another employer. It is likely that he or she will be required to get a new visa from theirhome country before they can begin working. That should be possible without undue difficulty.

I just want to clear up my conceptioins about the contract agreement these desi employers make you sign when you apply for H1B.

*1. Is it legal. Since the agreement is not notarized, is this legal

*2. I assume that for a legal agreement each and every page of the document would require your signature and the employers signature. Say the agreement covers 8 pages, then just putting your signature on the last page, does this make the document legal. I would assume signature is required on each and every page.

*3. Also in order for the document to be official or legal, don't you require a notary?

*4. Contract also states you cannot become permanent/ get a job at the client. Otherwise you have to pay fine of thousands of dollars. Is this also legal?

*5. You cannot leave the consultancy for x amount of months where x = 12 to 18 months. Can you bind an employer?

SatyaI am sorry to say that I don’t know any one in SUN. if you know the first or last name of the person then people who are working in Bangalore office of Sun may be able to help you. They should have an internal server in which they can search for the people using first name and last name.

Good luck with your search

Anon@ 3.46 PM

If the US Corporation is going to hire for a permanent position in their office they will do an extensive interview and it is tough to clear that with a fake resume. But when they hire a consultant they don’t look. If they find that one person is not that good, immediately they can fire him. Also they don’t have any overhead when they hire a consultant like health insurance. They don’t have to care about the resume. It is the headache of the consultant who hires that person.

Deepak,Thanks for sharing the information.

About your questions I know a close friend of mine who signed a 1 year contract. Just one signature in a document of about 10 pages. He had a contract of 1 year. Since they were not paying him well he changed jobs. They took him to court and finally he has to pay a heavy fine. So I believe all document you sign is legal in US.

I am not sure if it is mandatory for employer to give H1 papers to employee. I got mine but I had a full time job.

well there has been a lot of posts blaming consultants and pointing fingers at consultants an ppl that join them.. i dont really know if they are to blame as they are just making money out of opportunities they haveone thing.. many of these consultants dont pay ppl when they are on bench etc.. BUT how about when they are not on bench? it is the big companies like C**co etc that give contracts to these companies... knowing very well that they are cheap labour and knowing very well how those ppl are in.... big american corporates are no different from small time companies when it comes to exploiting the law.. a big firm M*******t had applied for H1b petitions for all the candidates that they interviewd this year cos they knew that the visas woudl get over this year....

Abt me : i have an offer from M*******ft the big american corporate and my petition got picked in the lottery .. i think my view is pretty objective.... however i do admit that ppl on H4s complaining about lack of visa status to get a job is really stupid.. they knew very well that they wouldnt be able to work when they got married.. im sure most of them got married cos they could live in US.... :D ... well.. now blaming the US system is not fair cos they very well knew what they were getting into :)

randon rambler- First things first – Congrats for getting into M*****t and also being lucky in getting visa. Yes you are correct. Finally it all comes to money. Every one (Big and small players)all want to make money and they are using various loopholes in the system.

Yes regarding H4 people- Coming to US is their first priority. Till they get in they wont be thinking about anything. Once they get in realities strike them and they want a job. Since they know it is tough for them to get a job here they should not be getting upset for not getting H1B.

As somebody from Europe who went through H1, GC and now is a US citizen, and who is very active in the immigrant community, I have seen this kind of stuff way too often.In fact, I think these shady consultants are doing the work of the anti-immigrants who want to abolish the H1.Spreading the word that this stuff is evil is a good thing.

There is a simple solution to the problem at hand!Get rid of this H-1B visa system and instead give Green Card's to all those non-immigrants who graduate from US Universities.That way Infy and Wipro wont be able to control the system. It will be completely dependent on getting admission into a University in the US which is not easy as they have a strict selection process.The good thing is that this would make the whole process completely merit oriented.

For an IT position in January in US, I interviewed 9 candidates. 7 desis and 2 non-desis. It was extremely shocking how every single one of them irrespective of being a desi or non-desi had blatantly lied on their resumes. I could not get answers to even simple questions, forget about asking questions about the job. Mind you I was someone who had 2 years of experience right of college and these candidates with more than 10 years of experience (at least on the resume) could not answer basic questions. Once you asked them questions right out of their resumes. They acted so surprised as if they have never read their resumes. It was a very revealing process. And the biggest surprise of them 8 out of the 9 candidates were from 4 US consultancies. In the end we ended up having benchmark exams to glean out candidates. A process that was supposed to last 2 weeks took 3 months. An adventure of sorts. So this problem is not about American or Indian consultants. It's the nature of the business.

Have you read some of the resumes of these so-called experienced desi consultants? The standard length is 6 pages, I have seen one with 12 pages. Are these people crazy? Who has the time to read through them? This is how I decide if someone is lying on their resumes: if a resume is more than 2 pages long then as they say "daal mein kuch kaala hain"

to anonymous at May 05, 2007 6:00 PM How come a person with 2 years experience is interviewing for a position that requires 10 years of experience? Also the US consultancies conduct screening interviews, which is non-technical and then set up a client interview. This screening interview is only to determine if the candidate has the relevant experiece. Does he/she have x years of technical experience, willing to relocate, available to start immediately. This may also require filling in a skill matrix telling x years of exp in y technology. If a candidate does not have the buzz words and 5-6 years of experience, his/her resume is not selected by the US consultancies. The end-client does not go to the Indian consultancies directly. They go to the US consultancies, telling them that we have a requirement that requires a person with 5-6 years of experience. The US consultancies do not have candidates. However the Indian consultancies contact US consultancies for the requirement and then tell them that we have such and such candidate who is fit for this position. The Indian consultancies then sends the resume of their desi employee, telling him to make sure that the employee's skill-set matches the job requirement.This may involve faking the resume called resume manipulation. The US consultancy just makes sure that the skill-set is matching. They are not technical person and do not conduct technical interview, because remember they are marketing people, also termed as account manager. There are very few entry level jobs in the US. Most of the jobs in the technical field are consulting jobs which require a person with 5-6 years of experience, or atleast 3 years of experience. American people are not willing to relocate. And there are thousands of H1B employees willing to work at the same job. You cannot blame the desi consultancies for faking resume. IF the resume does not match the requirement, then the resume is not selected for interview. WHat are desi consultants to do if they want their employee to be placed. There is no alternative but to fake the resume in order to get the job. Otherwise there is another competing desi consultancy who is also more than willing to send out fake resume of his employee in order to secure the job.

To anonymous May 05, 2007 6:00 PM When the desi employee from desi consultancy X approaches US consultancy Y for an end-client interview and he is selected, the US consultancy Y tells the desi employee remember when you work at the end client you represent US consultancy Y and not the desi consultancy X. SO the US consultancy is also at fault for encouraging resume manipulation!!!!

To anonymous May 05, 2007 6:05 PM Have you ever looked at the job description for US clients. They require 5-6 years of experience. If a candidate were to show 5-6 years of experience, he/she has to exaggerate his roles/responsibilities so his resume stands out!!!! How is a candidate going to be selected for an interview if he/she does not exaggerate his/her skills/ roles and responsibilities.

Here we are talking about H1b situation. Look at the situation of doctors (would-be in the US) who are doing residency so that they can graduate from medical school. They have to study in medical school (4-5 years) clears USMLE 1 2 and 3 and then look for residency. On residency they have to work like dogs for 70-80 hours per week and then they are paid only 30-40 thousand dollars per year. You can make much more in the software field. One argument is that doctors are paid highly after finishing the residency. But the residency life is very very tough.

To one 'Venu', obviously a Telugu Goolti! Are you ashamed that Telugu name is being mentioned many times as Fraud Desi Consultants? Well,...you must feel ashamed for all criminal cheating done by Telugu frauds on others and even on their own people! You guys have destroyed thousands of careers and families of honest hard-working Indians. Your Andhra CM came to Chicago, 3 days back, proclaiming and praising the 'Wonderful' work done by many fraud Telugus! He is obviously another fraud like you!Venu, i bet you are another of those 'failed B.E types' from 'Goolt-Land' who bribed and cheated your way to America and continuing to put 'Govinda' or 'Tirupati-Mottai...Shaving the head of others, Tirupati style!' on others, cheating everyone! Shame on you for your fraud Goolti pride!-Babu

Venu,I agree with you. Some people try to come up using filthy practices and you can find such people in all community. Finally if you have to achieve something especially in US you need real talent.

Babu,You must understand one thing. There may be rotten apples in all community. That doesn’t mean that you can picture every one in the community as rotten. Your experience with Andra people may be bad. I am from Kerala and I am in US for 6 years. I have met lot of good hard working Telugu people. I may have met few greedy Telugu people but I meet such people in all community (Mallu, Tamil, North Indian etc). Before coming to US I was in Chennai for 3 years and all my room mates were from Andra. I never had any bad experience. So you conclusion that all people from Andra are bad is not correct. Having that radical view won’t help you to appreciate the good things these people do.

I am working with a very big US consultancy company owned by Telugus. One Consultancy company owned by a north indian who was incidentaly a middle vendor tried to woo me into thier company and after failing to do so, that imposter sent my resume to many companies without my knowledge and when they called him, he was replying that the person (me) is not available for the project. So This type of persons are every where. Dont pinpoint one area.

I would like to mention one more thing about this whole business.I know many people who graduate from different fields (Non-IT) from US universities and still go to "Desi Consultants" (some of them even pay the H1B processing fee from their own pockets) and get hired with fake resumes.

Brijesh, good site. Keep it up. A 5 star rating for your site.I saw some wrangling between guys, bit funny to read, but very serious issue for many guys; If we were in India and got cheated, atleast we have parents or relatives to bail us out, here nobody. I came across this url from Goolti.com today; It is an article dated Sep 25, 2006 called 'Gaming the System' in Portland Press HeraldA must read:

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/immigration/060925imm.html

It names some desi companies under DOL Investigations; how they game(cheat) the system:

We've now reached a point of not only ripping off our people but also Americans. It does not spell good for our future here, because of the actions of a few guys from India. Brijesh, thanks for having this Blog.

Ravikumar,Thanks a lot for forwarding the link. Yes if they find out all these that are happening regarding H1B it will definitely backfire on Indians. Indian H1B holders will be viewed always with suspicion.

Brijesh, i came across some more sites that i think are worth reading: these are pointers to the extent to which our Desis go to scam. I am sending you these urls to 'educate' our youngsters to be careful and have a good future.

Ravi,Thanks again for sending all those links. Many people especially those applying from India get into this trap without knowing the facts. The discussion going around aboutH1B will help those people to educate better about the “other side” of H1B.

all those who have posted comments and the author of this blog is desi, and they are or were interested in coming to US sometime, and the people who are in US now or get the H1b are just bashing how indian IT companies are doing business, how bad is the syllabus of indian it colleages are. this is just reflect that they had closed their minds long time back. Whats wrong in this if desi consultants are misusing the H1b programme, they do not force any one to give them money , its totally up to individual to give the money to consultants or not.

Few people who put comments here were not desi like JoeF.My post was for those people who doesn't know these trap like my friend in India. He was approached by a consulting company with a lucrative job offer. He never know about all the stuff happening here. So if my post helped few people to understand how this concept of H1 works then I am happy. If some one still joins these shady consultants after knowing the facts then it is up to them.

How many of you studied in donation colleges in india, paying huge amount as donation...i am sure more than 50% are there here.. u ppl have money and paid it, what abt bright student than u, who doesnt have money to pay? didnt u grab his seat?

how many of u have studied in premium colleges like IIT or REC in india...? some of u guys got H1 or FI visa, what abt the IIT guys whose visa might have got rejected? ru a better candidate than an IIT guy? ur luck was good, so u got visa...bottom line is, not every one is a skilled worker in US...

if u ppl think that studying engineering is a qualification for IT job, i guess u ppl are wrong..for doing IT job, u need analytical ability and ability to grasp things quickly... background qualification matters less...I have taken tons of interviews of MS and BE people who were good bad and ugly also..

coming to H4 applying for H1 visa.. whats wrong in that? If he / she has a proper education and intelligence, whats wrong in faking and applying? lot of ppl who posted here might have faked their resumes...when u fake its not a mistake, some one else fakes its a problem for u, because its eating ur pie also....

yes if u fake it might reflect bad on indian community... but if the guy or gal fakes and get a job and if they were able to do it properly, no one questions them...trouble starts when u dont do properly....BUT THE SAME PRINCIPLE APPLIES TO GENIUNE EXP CANDIDATES ALSO...if u dont do good, geniune of fake who cares....

every one wants to live and win..no one says, I am a fake canididate.. i dont want to take job...they are also competing aginist all candidates...

i agree that few desi consultants are sucking blood, avoid them, ppl who knows abt them educate others...

coming to companies like infy etc, imagine ur doing business, u will always think abt making profit... in how ever possible way...infy etc found this offshoring model and they are making money... in process they want H1s to do business, nothing wrong in that..

my feeling is, instead of cribing aginist these things, educate people to fight aginst blood suckers, compete with vengence aginst all others and go along life...

I think the desperation of MS grads are driving them to lose their ethics and go by the advice of greedy consultants. I think people just modify resumes without looking at the content of resumes and people who do get the interviews are either screwed at the interview or they get selected because they have impressed the client in some other way.

I have had to endure the same bullshit with the consultants, and since I couldnt get past nothing, I decided not to modify my resume. This managed to get me a job in a Big Financial firm in NYC, but guess what happened next, I had to take phone interviews for my consultants other candidates. When I said no, I got all the fc** grief over this.

But whats the soln for MS grads to get a job when the market is slow. Try to use your school thesis and experience at the school. Try to get into summer internships or work for free where you can get good experience. These are again worst case scenarios. As of now the job market is so damn hot that we need people in millions to do Tech jobs.(I may wrong since I am lookin at IT perspective.)

Its a jungle out there and thats the best you can do to play these blood suckers.

I am not sure if anything can be done, but as brijesh said education is tha best soln.

Please tell Congress to enact stricter laws so that companies not obeying H1B rules are penalized heavily. If any company does not pay its employee money for work done, then US law should cancel the owners' green card/citizenship and send him/her to India after spending 10 years in Jail!!!!!! Also H1b should enact a new law making it illegal for companies to contract the employee to clients. Absolutely no contracting. This will shut down all these desi consulting companies that are exploiting the H1b employees and ruining their life

Just get some friend who has a green card, start an S corporation or LLC for 500 dollars, get a lawyer and figure out how to do H1b and start exploiting the other Indians. It is Tit for Tat. You can then start taking advantage of fellow desis and rob them of their money. So simple!!!!!!

These is not new - this fake resumes scenario is happening since 1990s.

Proof for 2001

http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/apr/1704mes7.htmSat Apr 14 00:18:29 2001Name:NarenEmail:dnaren@yahoo.comViews:Here are the reasons why some H1-b workers are first to get laid off 1. Many of H1-b workers are contractors working through body-shop companies.

These contracting companies charge the client at abnormal rate. (The h1-b worker sees very less of what he/she is earning). Cutting these contractors is a good choice. 2. Most of the H1-b contractors are fraud.

They prepare fake resumes with false skill set and experience. Again, the consulting/contracting companies play a big role in preparing and passing the fake resumes. They are not worth continuing with, so the companies sack the incompetent H1-b workers.

Is there any H1-b worker with good technical skills and who has contributed to the success of the company lost his/her job? This stock market slump is a blessing... all the idiots with fake resumes and degrees will go down.

I wish this stock market slump and economic slow-down stay this way for another 6 months. The traffic constables from AP, bank clerks from UP who came here with fake resumes and degrees... start working in NJ gas stations. Good luck!

hi,i think the quota for the masters students n those for ppl with experience is different. i dont think a person with h4 competes with a person doing maters in US.n another point i wud like to make is.. a person on H4 in order to do any kinda job whether as a cashier in a supermarket also need s to have h1.so their reasons are also valid enuf to apply thru consultants.. As for showing the fake resume i think they get over with it only cos the educational check is not done properly by USCIS.

anon @9.53 PM,I was here in US during that recession period in 2001. So many people lost jobs and those with genuine resumes itself were running from pillar to post to get a job. If a recession of that type hits US, the first to loose job will be those who got in with fake resumes

Divya,

“person on H4 in order to do any kinda job whether as a cashier in a supermarket also need s to have h1”

YOU ARE COMPLETELY WRONG.

H1 is for specialized jobs and cashier in a super market wont come in that category. So did you apply for this years H1B visa through a consultant thinking that you can work as a cashier in a supermarket?

psv,thanks for the link. You have explained the exact scenario happening with desi consultants. for those who couldn't see the link properly here is the linkhttp://haanji.blogspot.com/2006/07/are-you-looking-for-tech-job-in-us.html

Thanks for all the information guys!! Just to sum it all up:- Do not go to consulatnts who ask for money to recruit you (in these cases INR 2 lacs)- Get recruited by the company directly- You salary has to be paid to you directly and not to your consultant- Do not agree on any binding contract wherein you have to work for the same company for any stipulated period of time

Do let me know if the points stated above are right.Also have i missed out anything in safe guarding myself against such touts.

Great site. I just wanna add:For those fortunate to have gotten a H-1B visa after all your struggles and adventures: for the next BIG STEP, i.e. Immigration to the USA:As far as possible avoid Indian Immigration Attorneys. Go to an American(Gora): it may cost you 25% more but they do a professional job, without cheating and in time. Most Indian Attorneys are terribly corrupt, inefficient and blood-suckers who know how to exploit, in league with the highly corrupt Indian Diplomats and Embassy people. Going through them is huge horror story and that is another huge topic to discuss. There are a few decent chaps like Sheela Murthy and Rajiv Khanna, who are costly but very professional. Thanks for your site, Mr. Brijesh

Rashmi,You are correct! You can work with consultants having proven track record. Business model in US encourages consultant stuff and the key is in selecting good consultants.

SreedharWent to your blog and read that. The documents the US Consulate asked should be with any “genuine” company. They cannot give you all those documents because they are just a fraud company. They may not have any clients and how can they give you the letter from the client? At least be careful next time when you apply for H1B.

Anon @ 8.37 PM,

Good thoughts. I have never reached that stage and never did lot of research in that area. I will definitely keep you advise in mind when I look for an immigration lawyer in the future.

I will give you details (names and solid information with proof) of an Indian IT company collecting $10 K from prospective employers in currency in India, transferring that cash (and I mean currency) to Pittsburgh, laundering the money using an elaborate scheme.

I can send you a fact sheet if I have your commitment to investigate it.

there is a lot of craze in India (particulary from southern state of Andhra Pradesh) to go to USA regardless of the technical skills and self interest. This is because of the peer/parental pressure from young age and also the craze for the guy who is employed in the USA, in the marriage market. It is really a alarming and pathetic situation. Perhaps India is the only country in the world where we see this strange situation.Lot of my friends say their marriage prospects will be poor in the marriage market if they are not in the USA no matter what their financial/work situation is. It is just that they have to be a 'living human being' in the USA on the H1B visa or a GC holder. So this whole thing is going in loop....

anon @ 3.58AM,Send that to USCIS so that they can investigate. If they found some truth in the allegation they will be blacklisting that consultant.

Anon @ 1.22PM,You are right. I had a friend in Chennai (room mate) from Andra. He use to tell me that his dowry will increase from 50 lakhs to 1 crore if he gets a chance to go US. Finally he landed in US and married a girl and he got more than a crore as dowry.

-----THIS COMMENT APPLIES TO ONLY A FEW SCRUPOLOUS DESIS AND DESI COMPANIES (Mostly from the state of Andhra Pradesh). NO OFFENCE PLEASE------

OK. So this whole desi IT H1B Visa abuse scenario can be compared to the Mumbai's Kamathipura Red Light Area where, sadly, the women are kidnapped/forced from all over India/Nepal and sold into this area. In similar fashion, the desi guy is also mentally forced by peers/parents/relatives/Marriage market from the young age to land into USA instead of his technical skills ability or his personal interest (which is a sad thing....)

Then the Scrupolous Desi company does not leave them for atleast couple of years or else will threaten them. Then later, this now 'experienced' Desi guy will inturn 'force' his low-skilled sibling/cousin/brother-in-law from India to land in USA regardless of their technical ability because by this time he knows/learned the loopholes to 'Green Card' path. So this whole thing is a 'Scam' in loop and the consequence will be know in the near future...One thing is for sure. Half the Desis spoiled this H1B thing in just 10 years (assuming the desis really started using these H1B from 1998).

-----THE ABOVE COMMENT APPLIES TO ONLY TO A FES SCRUPOLOUS DESIS AND DESI COMPANIES (Mostly from the state of Andhra Pradesh). NO OFFENCE PLEASE------

Regarding the last comment on Guys from Andhra aka Telugu, i've got to agree that most of them are unscrupulous totally fellows. There is a saying among Gooltis in America: they call IT industry in USA as 'Mana Rajyam', meaning 'our Raj'and no one can touch them. Gooltis are the scum of IT and i only hope they are kicked out of USA for the corruption, lies and cheating! Hope they rot in Hell!

A new video on Google: 'COOLIES', a story in 19/20th Century, the use of Indian Coolies/Indentured Labour by the British; Very poignant and touching! I am writing about this in your Blog as I see how it relates to present day 'Modern' Indians/Desis: how they use fellow Indians as Indentured Labour, or in other words Desis have become Slaves to fellow Desis in the 21st Century!URL Link:http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8146344291595038205&q=bbc+duration%3Along&total=1021&start=0&num=10&so=1&type=search&plindex=6

Blatant mis-use of the H-1b Visa by Desis using Crooked Immigration Attorneys:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx--jNQYNgA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bsp2V3ifZjM

I know a Desi Law Firm in Texas (with Political Conections!) that blatantly uses H-1B Visa Programme for Desis to work as Market Research Analysts / Financial Analysts?.....To work in Gas Stations! I am not kidding! They charge upto Ten Thousand Dollars for those Visas. Total fake fellows. They also do I-140's using fake documents. Fraudulent Crooked Desis! Gooltis have abused the H-1 Visa Program!

New Delhi: Most IT professional in India aspire for a US job and dollar salaries. But working in US requires one to clear the stringent Visa requirements, one of which is to find an employer first who is ready to take your case to US consulate office.

The elusive H1B Visa, that the young Indian software professionals yearn to get, can be obtained easily if you have the money. Newspapers and cyberspace are filled with luring advertisements that claim to get you an H1B Visa for a price tag.

CNN-IBN correspondent Payal Goel and Bikas Mishra posed as a H1B Visa seeker and headed to one such consultant. They were shocked to discover a range of services on offer.

“We will get you a fake employer. He will file for your H1B. He will have a proper company and will be a US citizen. He files for your H1B,” said the Visa agent.

So what happens once I get there? "Fake employers who files for your H1B will give you a work permit. Once you get there this fake employer will give a NOC saying you can work with any employer,” said the agent.

Individuals cannot petition for their H1B Visas. To get this 6-year long work permit to the US, an employer petitions for its foreign employee for a specific job. But using this route, the so-called visa consultants are able to get h1b visas for their clients practically without a job. The US government admits such frauds are rampant. Last year alone they found 2000 Indian applications dubious and sent them back for reconsideration.

“We have found to our regret that Hyderabad and Bangalore are centers of H1B visa fraud. It is extremely easy to just walk into someone who rather forthrightly tells you that they can produce anything to appear to qualify for an H1B Visa. In fact we have had our employees conduct search operations and walking into such agents office and ask questions,” said Glen Keiser, Consular Section Chief, US Consulate, Mumbai

Genuine IT companies with operations in the US are bearing the brunt of such frauds. Last year, companies like Wipro and Infosys applied for 20,000 H1B Visas each. However due to a cap of 65,000 on these visas, and many of it being taken by fraud applicants, these companies could manage only about 25% of their requirement.

These fake consultants, do they always take money from your before u get the visa..or do they lure u saying that once u land in the US you will get your salary minus their commission??..please enlighten..

Washington: The outsourcing row between India and the US is once again hotting up with US senators Richard Durbin and Chuck Grassley saying they suspect foreign companies, including Indian IT firms, of abusing US L Visas. L Visas are issued to MNCs and foreign companies who want to transfer employees to their offices in the US from other countries. But unlike the H1B visa, it’s not as strict with labour laws. Durbin questions how firms that get a large number of H1B visas also manage to get many L Visas. In a recent statement he says, “I find it hard to believe that these L visas are being used appropriately, when many of the same companies are some of the largest employers of H1-B workers. It's clear that foreign outsourcing firms are abusing the system and we can't let that continue.”According to information put up on Senator Grassley's website, several prominent Indian companies feature in the list of top L-Visa applicants. These include IT heavyweights Tata Consultancy Services, Satyam and Wipro. “I'd like to know how many American workers these companies hire compared to the number of foreign workers they bring in,” writes Senator Grassley.But Commerce Minister Kamal Nath dismisses these concerns. He says short-term visas like the H1B, should not be perceived as a threat. “H1B is a win-win. It’s not a concession, it’s a business-to-business issue, not an issue between the governments,” he said. NASSCOM too has reacted to the two senators' statements. While it admits the issue needs more attention, it says visa abuse is restricted to smaller Indian firms. Ironically, the senators' allegations come at a time when the US Senate attempts to revive an Immigration Reform Bill, which includes provision for increasing the number of H1B visas.

We see 'some' good news from India every now and then, which is all axed by depressing news such as the above. Corruption and cheating have reached Pandemic Levels! The Middle Class are trying to get out at any cost! Totally sucks! "India Shining"???

These are URL's of H-1B-and-Indians Related Stuff that is must read; Let people read and decide for themselves the true state of affairs!

A July 2007 article in Rediff India:http://www.rediff.com/money/2007/jul/04visa.htm

URLs regarding Case on TCS in California! A very shocking story!http://blog.vdare.com/archives/2007/03/20/indentured-servitude-and-indian-corporations/http://www.zazona.com/ShameH1B/Library/Legal/Tata_vs_Vedachalam.pdfhttp://www.zazona.com/ShameH1B/Library/News/Sunspot/Indentured_Servants.htm

An article about Desis!http://www.zazona.com/ShameH1B/Library/Archives/DiplomaFraud.htm

A Horror story experienced told by a H-1b Desi on Dice.com!http://seeker.dice.com/olc/thread.jspa?threadID=963

A famous(nee-infamous!) Indian, who made it to Wikipedia!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakireddy_Bali_Reddyhttp://www.zazona.com/ShameH1B/Library/Archives/Lolitas.htm

URL's on another famous(nee-Infamous!) Indian!http://techpol.blogspot.com/2006/01/h1-b-workers-swindled-and-fear.htmlhttp://www.immigrationportal.com/archive/index.php/t-201315.htmlhttp://frauddigest.com/fraud.php?ident=2471http://frauddigest.com/fraud.php?ident=3224

And now, How the Americans and American public are getting back at Indians becoz. of our 'wonderful' habits andmethods! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOqOxYr4F18http://programmersguild.blogspot.com/

.....My question is: Who is all this going to affect?If we as Indians don't clean up our act!We're all going to really afftected!It is in our hands to make a difference, by following the laws of this country!

It is known that Zazona is anti-immigrant; But they are quoting from law-suits filed by Indians(-on H-1B) against their own Indian Employers for harrassment and EXPLOITATION! Brijesh,how can one say it is blown out of proportion? USCIS should simply shut down these guys who exploit Indians or anyone! You started off your Blog by saying how they tried to exploit your wife and you did'nt like it one bit! Similarly, here we are reading about our countrymen expoited as SLAVES by our own people! We should condone it and expose these fellows! We cannot have the Coolie/Indian Servitude system here in America!

Unfortunately,I started reading reviews abt bad consultants after I fell into their trap.Shocked to see tht so many r thr.Am on L2 and was abt to apply for H1 thru' one of 'em. They forced me to fake my resume. I lost some money bcz thy promised training and a job.They faked my friend's qualification also.With my work permit I can work.Problem is whenever I search for a job I find only reqs with 5+ yrs of exp.Whereas i've got only 1 yr of exp.Many agree with consultants bcz thrz no way out...if you r ready to fake you get a job,rest r loosers here,thtz their policy.

I think the best way to get rid of this menace is to form a group and submit our views and our experience to INS/DOL..To post it on T.V and ask Mike Moore to make a doc. on H1-B Fraud..So americans will wake up and take civil action against such fradulent companies.

Is this blog still active? I have seen this menace growing. Every house wife, mostly from a secific Indian community, are faking resumes in testing, java , database etc and getting into the market. Obviously they dont perform well and rely on their network to get along. Is there any place we can complain about and stop this corruption.

Thanks Brijesh! This is turning out to be a big scandal in our town now. Most of us work for a large insurance company. We now have almost 15-20 such cases.

The problem is how do you collect proof against these folks. I have known a lady working in my project who started on a cash register in retail, then teller and moved as a tester with 7 years of experience.

Though I hate to generalize 90% of the cases are females from AP.

In most cases they give dummy companies and usually have their folks as reference who vouch for them.

I was being cheated by a desi consultant form too. They lie about the number of H-1s they sponsor etc just to lure you during your OPT period.. I bumped into this new site, H-1B Statistics and it has historical database of each sponsoring company.

I came across many postings citing the telugu as bad people. but the thing is that in all regions there is good and bad . for eg in kerala I came to know that many of the educated and as well as uneducated just dont do any work and simply booze and fleece the money from any newcomers to their state. this is to put point that in all the regions there is good and bad and dont simply point out a finger at all people for the mistake or wrongs of some

I agree Desi Consultants are evil. If you are in a desperate situation, you will be urged to contact them but beware for they are friends to no one. They will tell all good stuff about their company and that they can get you a high-paying job. But anyone who says so is lying/cheating. You might have no choice sometimes and approach them but you should know that you are dealing with crooks.

Raepu means tomorrow .funny incident I was in wal mart and a group of TDP's were talking loudly (some college students ) talking loudly and saying something and the word raepu got said a lot . An american lady was standing next to them looked at them then got scared and ran away . She probably thought that they were talking about raping her and got shit scared. hehhehehhehehehehehheehh

This is a fake company. they ask for money to get you the h1b and they never will even send you app, and will eat your money and say that uscis rejected the app. and the rude thief anand dont give your money back to you ever. and anand mikileni is the guy, he makes promises, no actions. he ate my 1200 dollars. and the office of this company is one tiny room with computers lying on floor. he cant afford even chairs. i lost a lot of money so warning other desi friends to not fall for their scam

Be aware of your rights. Charging for H1B processing is illegal. Charging for any training is ILLEGAL. NOT PAYING ON BENCH IS ILLEGAL. To make things simple for you I am listing all the lawsuits from the following site and summarizing the findings. Dept of Labor has it very clear. Not paying on becnh is illegal. A person is considered on bench if the employment is not properly terminated.

Look at all these caseshttp://www.oalj.dol.gov/PUBLIC/INA/REFERENCES/CASELISTS/LCA_DECISIONS.HTM

Charging for H1B processing is illegal. Charging for any training is ILLEGAL. NOT PAYING ON BENCH IS ILLEGAL2003-LCA-12 Neerja Rajan vs International Business Solutions.

Making employee sign bonds which says that employee must pay XYZ $ if he /she leaves before n months IS ILLEGAL. THERE IS NO BONDED LABOR.2006-LCA-29 USDOL Vs Avenue Dental

You must complain to DOL if you feel you have been wronged. There is no time limit for complaining. You can complain even if you ARE NOT IN USA. You can complain from India. The judge will listen to your case on phone. You DON’T NEED A LAWYER. THE DOL WILL FIGHT THE CASE ON YOUR BEHALF. YOU JUST NEED TO MAKE A COMPLAIN TO DOL WITH SOME SOLID DETAILS. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR PROVIDE SOME SOLID INFOR. DOL MAY THINK YOU ARE JOKING IF YOU DONT PROVIDE SOME CONCRETE INFO.

WHEN YOU COMPLAIN, DOL WILL INVESTIGATE THE ENTIRE COMPANY AND NOT JUST YOUR FILE. SO EMPLOYER WILL NOT KNOW ITS YOU WHO FILED COMPLAINT. THEY WILL ASK EMPLOYER TO SHOW ALL PAYSTUBS AND THEN TELL EMPLOYER TO PAY ALL H1B EMPLOYEES THE CORRECT WAGE ( NOT PAID ON BENCH, H1 FEE CHARGED, TRAINING FEE, ETC). SO YOUR IDENTITY WILL REMAIN CONFIDENTIAL. IF THE EMPLOYER DOESNT COMPLY THEN THE DOL WILL FILE LAWSUIT AGAISNT HIM/HER AND YOU WILL BE IMMEDIATELY PROTECTED AGAINST RETALIATION. IF THE EMPLOYER DARES TO RETALIATE ( BY TRYING TO CANCEL YOUR VISA), HE WILL BE IN MUCH MUCH BIGGER TROUBLE. YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO LEAVE USA.

2004-LCA-6 Amtel vs Yongmahakapakorn ( Rung)

Employee need not ask for bench pay. Employer must give even without asking2005-LCA-36 Zhaolin Mao vs George Nasser

Employer needs to pay employee what amount is mentioned in LCA even though employe may be making extra money through other sources2004-LCA-21 USDOL vs Pegasus Consulting 2006-LCA-29 USDOL Vs Avenue Dental

Employer must pay even though employee has lied in resume2003-LCA-12 Neerja Rajan vs International Business Solutions

Your LCA doesn’t stop even if you convert to another visa. The employer has to pay you till end of LCA unless there was bonafide termination of employment i.e. notification to INS etc2004-LCA-21 USDOL vs Pegasus Consulting 2005-LCA-36 Zhaolin Mao vs George Nasser

Interest must be paid on backwages2006-LCA-9 USDOL vs Clean Air Technologies2005-LCA-36 Zhaolin Mao vs George Nasser

Employer is personally responsible for the LCA violations. The DOL can make the employer pay from his own pocket by piercing the corporate veil. Company formation doesn’t remove liability of employer as an individual. The bodyshopper cannot declare bankruptcy to run away from his obligations2001- LCA-10 USDOL vs Mohan Kutty2004-LCA-40 USDOL vs Home mortgage2006-LCA-29 USDOL Vs Avenue Dental2005-LCA-42 USDOL Vs Priority one software

In case employer fails to affect a bonafide termination then backwages need to be paid till end of visa period.2004-LCA-6 Amtel vs Yongmahakapakorn ( Rung)

Employer is required to keep LCA ( all immigration papers) for Public examination and give you your visa papers. If employer doesn’t give immigration papers then he cannot terminate you. That means you must be paid as there has been no bonafide termination. The employer is required to keep LCA papers near the kitchen/coffee room.2001- LCA-10 USDOL vs Mohan Kutty2003-LCA-15 USDOL vs Ken technologies2006-LCA-29 USDOL Vs Avenue Dental

If many people are facing these fraud then why not come up with list of fraud consultant so that many others can be saved.Although they grow daily but we can limit there growth otherwise there would be an epidemic

Brijesh - Thanks for the insight into the world of the Desi consultant. While I don't agree that H[indu]-1B fraud is exclusively the fault of bodyshops, 200,000 American programmers have been impacted by the exploitation and abuse committed by immigration lawyers and the H[indu]-1B lobby.

As the responses to your post show, the H[indu]-1B program needs to be shut down and we need to start from scratch.

Some people in this blog are fretting about the so called "gultis". If these guys who are blaming the telugus are really honest, they should question themselves whether they were always honest in their whole life. It just shows our mentality of "scape-goating" and deep divisions within our country. I believe that its a cardinal sin to jack up the experience in one's resume, be a proxy to an inexperienced job seeker, or run fraudulent pay checks. I think those people who commit these acts should be fined and deported rather than jailed in US. While it is true that several recent start-up fraudulent consultancies are operated by telugus, blaming the whole community is wrong. There are a heck a lot of telugu people who are really honest and hard working.

Its not hard to imagine the plight that the many honest H1 job seekers affected by this fraud go through. My sincere sympathies to people in this blog who were really affected by this whole fradulent business. The best way to stop this is to inform the USCIS about these fradulent practices and the people involved or include the list of fraudulent consultancies in a separate blog. Not speaking out is not a good idea. I was a honest "gulti" who left the US since I did not get a job and did not enter the consultancy mess because I thought it was unethical and illegal.

NO ONE CAN FORCE YOU TO FAKE RESUME ..MANY RACES DONT DO IT.. ITS INDIANS WHO DO,,.

I DONT THINK EVIL IS DESI CONSULTANT.. IT IS DESI MENTALITY...THEY ALL WANT TO MAKE $ AND LOT OF THEM ARE JEALOUS THAT OTHER INDIANS ARE MAKING $ WITH LESS EDUCATION... NO WORRIES..OBAMA WILL TAKE CARE OF BOTH WHO THINK THEY ARE QUALIFIED AND THOSE WHO ARE PRODUCT OF DESI CONSULTANT...NO INDIAN WANTS TO GO BACK AND THEN THEY BLAME EMPLOYERS???

See your blog links here in this website, you can also join him.If you are so pissed of by these consultants, why did u come to USA.you could have stayed in India and made India a superpower. :)http://guestworkerfraud.com/americans-too-stupid/#000224www.itgrunt.com

well, it took me an hour and half to go through all the comments, first of all,Great Job for writing this post and your idea of letting others know about this fraud is worth appreciating, one more thing i wanna make a point here, When you talk about Andhra, You are talking about more than seven crore people and i don't think its a good idea to curse the whole community only because, you know some treacherous employers hailing from Andhra..They are from everywhere, those bunch of SBags are nothing but worthless junk..avoid Commenting on the language, as i figured it out some one started making fun of telugu word " repu" and comparing to " rape " , since this post in here is supposed to be educative and it shouldn't hurt one's feelings,choose ur word's carefully folks!!! if we(Indians) start making fun of other states within India: Whats the point???.PS: I am from the Same Andhra, which ur trying to potray as villain of India!!! I feel bad about the crooked nature of these so called Employers, who is literally sucking our Blood!!!WELL, We Will win the battle very soon, don't worry and keep posting!!!Jai HO!!!~dandy

New Bill today putting further Restrictions on H-1B and L Visas. Gooltis are Screwd! It will further prevent Goolti Frauds from getting Visas! Gooltis can now head back to their Promised Land, The Land of "Satyam" aka Andhra Pradesh, where "Satyam" is a Way of Life! Gooltis were putting Govinda to fellow Indians and getting away with it, now Americans are Putting Govinda to the Gooltis! Goolti Buggers can now Cry to Balaji or Sai or whoever! Better stay in the Land of 'Satyam'!

Many Indians are notorious frauds. If INS shuts down one Goolti company, the guy will start another company with different name, with his wife as the head. He will register the wife as the company CEO and continue more of the fraud with Bonds, keeping Indians Bonded as they do in India. And they do this with just another website and another phone line. I knew of one guy who was on H1B visa but was still running a company in Texas, giving training, taking money from Indians, and with cooked up Resumes was getting H1Bs. Then in 2008, as INS started getting strict he vanished from Texas. Guess he must have run back to his APINS should not allow H1Bs to run companies. They should make H1Bs Visas much more expensive and visit the job sites where H1s supposedly work. They will find quite a few of them working in Motels, Gas Stations or Dollar stores, while in fact they will be shown as Programmer on the H1B Visa. The H1B has become one big scam in America. INS should also monitor the Bank transactions of these companies. The usual trick in Payroll is the Owner will pay a Salary by Check to the Employee and once the Employee deposits the Check, the Employee will pay back his Employer some or most of that amount. Why so. It is because the Owners have a hold of some sort on the Employees. They either keep their Certificates, H1B Notices and Paystubs or they will hold them on huge Bonds. That way they do tax fraud and get away with it, while the Employee still has his low wage job and is Thankful to His Master.In early 1990s TCS used to bring people from India on Visas and pay them around 800 per month while showing 32,000 on Annual Wages, W2 to the IRS. Then many filed suit against TCS and broke away to join other companies. Some were duped for 2-3 years by TCS, before they quit.INS should stop the L Visas, most of which are for fake positions and this is done by almost all the Indian companies

Hi I have applied H1B visa for USA in HEXACORP for the year 2010. I got offer letter from Hexacorp and i have accepted the offer and send back to Hexacorp .They asked H1B Visa processing fee for 60K INR.That is refundable and need to take this amount DD in Bank.

After sending my accept letter , I asked for proof for any receipt or any wirtten document for my money and wich they told earlier like If H1b visa fail may be some amount refundable or proceed Next year.Whatever the oral communicaiton i asked for written document from hexacorp.

I did not get any reply mail .They are not following any communication in the reply mail, Only they are managing through phone calls. They called me suddenly This year H1B visa we have receieved more then 25 person SO we cant proceed further this year.

My question is Why they did not tell this information before i am sending my accept offer letter or after accept my offer letter and send it return back to hexacorp?

Only i got this information after i asked for any proof for their words in document

Hi I have applied H1B visa for USA in HEXACORP for the year 2010. I got offer letter from Hexacorp and i have accepted the offer and send back to Hexacorp .They asked H1B Visa processing fee for 60K INR.That is refundable and need to take this amount DD in Bank.

After sending my accept letter , I asked for proof for any receipt or any wirtten document for my money and wich they told earlier like If H1b visa fail may be some amount refundable or proceed Next year.Whatever the oral communicaiton i asked for written document from hexacorp.

I did not get any reply mail .They are not following any communication in the reply mail, Only they are managing through phone calls. They called me suddenly This year H1B visa we have receieved more then 25 person SO we cant proceed further this year.

My question is Why they did not tell this information before i am sending my accept offer letter or after accept my offer letter and send it return back to hexacorp?

Only i got this information after i asked for any proof for their words in document

Why they did not tell this information before i am sending my accept offer letter or after accept my offer letter and send it return back to hexacorp?

Because they are a shady consultant and they are in this business to make money and not to provide employment. They may not have any project and they may have just thought that they could make some money using 60 K you paid them…

Never give these consultants any money without proof. Now they will easily wash their hands telling that they have not taken any money from you. Be more careful next time.

I can suggest you one thing... Leave aside this question.... Already (my) country INDIA facing a lots of corruption issues.. what i can thought, you are a deserving candidate who do hard work to gain knowledge. Am i right? is it every deserve candidate need money and H1-VISA to accomplish dream??? Come to INDIA... If you are a knowledgeable or talented, face the challenge... Join the BARC, ISRO, IISC, become a lecturer in Premier institute.. if you can't... Then cry whole life like shit... behave like a coward...

"The fact that such a thing is happening shows that there is something terribly wrong with the system."

I'll have to the correct this statement - the problem is not with the system the problem is WITH INDIANS ! They are the ones who screwed up the system. Of course not every Indian is bad but most of the fraudsters in the US in IT consulting are Indians, which you know very well too.

Before the mass arrival of Indians, there was no such fraud in the consulting arena! I am an Indian btw.

"The fact that such a thing is happening shows that there is something terribly wrong with the system."

I'll have to the correct this statement - the problem is not with the system the problem is WITH INDIANS ! They are the ones who screwed up the system. Of course not every Indian is bad but most of the fraudsters in the US in IT consulting are Indians, which you know very well too.

Before the mass arrival of Indians, there was no such fraud in the consulting arena! I am an Indian btw.

I am a student pursuing dual degree in Computer Science in BITS Pilani with one year of experience as an intern and good GPA . I am interested in getting a job in USA.I know it is difficult for a fresher to get a job through consultants but I hope I can find it atleast after 2 more years of experience. ( There are companies which directly came from USA to our institute to recruit freshers for H1-B). I want to know whether it is possible to get a job in this way through consultants atleast after 1 or 2 years or is it better to go for MS(I am interested to go for MS only if first option is not possible ) ?I want to know whether it is possible to get a H1-B job by directly applying to their careers website or job sites instead of consulting companies.Will there be response that way ?

Please don't join SML SOLUTIONS INC (100 Plainfield Ave, Edison NJ). They are not at all professional and will not do your H1B processing on time. Paychecks and pay stubs are also not delivered on time. Taking money from consultants for H1B. FOrging PO's informing consultant less money.

There is no dedicated HR person or marketing, running by only one person.Pay checks are never received on time.

Please don't join SML SOLUTIONS INC. They are not at all professional and will not do your H1B processing on time. Paychecks and pay stubs are also not delivered on time. Taking money from consultants for H1B. FOrging PO's informing consultant less money.

There is no dedicated HR person or marketing, running by only one person.Pay checks are never received on time.

If at all anyone to be blamed, that is US immigration System. if a geneuine company wants to hire a foreign national due to lack of local resources, they can't wait for 6 months to get the visa approved.There are good chances that the visa could be rejected as well. The genuine employer can't predict well ahead or can't afford to wait that long.

It is true that US employers require H1b to run their business but the immigration department should address this practicaliy issues by reforming H1B visas

I fall in the category, genuinely talented, but suffering due to these desi consultancies. To make the matter worst, I have an experience as an entrepreneur, cleared a national level entrance exam of one of the prestigious university in the field of IT situated in bangalore, and also got short listed for a premier B-school one year MBA program, yet, I have suffered three job losses. I don't know what do Indians think. Qualified Engineers here suffer a lot and cheaters come ahead.

I have infact stopped searching for jobs now. I don't have any intentions to join these bodyshopping firms who are headed by those people who are nothing but farmers, and they bring their labour mindset here also.

Engineering is still a game of people who have brains, not of those people whose genetics belong to the category whose ancestors always have been slaves.